White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs put on a terrible performance — even by his own standards — in (not) responding to lingering questions about the Sestak quid pro quo at today’s press briefing.

On simple questions — why did you refuse to respond to the allegations for months when you say nothing inappropriate happened? Were there other attempts to reach out to Sestak besides the Clinton call? Why won’t you name the job offered to Sestak? — Gibbs referred reporters to the vague memo released by the White House on Friday, and on at least one occasion admitted that he’d “have to ask counsel for a better answer.”

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday he could “understand” if reporters thought he was responsible for keeping them in the dark about an administration position offered to Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) — but he had no immediate answers for reporters about details of the deal.
A reporter asked Gibbs why he wouldn’t discuss the offer over many months, even as the administration contended that nothing inappropriate had taken place. “I’d have to ask counsel for a better answer,” Gibbs said.
The press secretary also demurred on whether offers made to Sestak in June and July of 2009 — as mentioned in the memo of explanation offered by White House counsel Robert Bauer — were made by former President Bill Clinton and whether there were multiple approaches to Sestak, as opposed to the single phone call he described. “Whatever’s in the memo is accurate,” Gibbs said, adding that he would “check.”
Gibbs said the advisory post at issue “was an unpaid position and didn’t constitute a lot of what you hear,” but he didn’t say precisely what the position offered was.
Pressed on how a widely discussed scenario — where Sestak serving on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board could have been possible while Sestak continued to serve in the House, which is forbidden by the board’s rules — Gibbs said simply, “I’d refer you to the memo.”

But relax folks. Nothing to see here.